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Published on: March 4, 2021
Orthogonal Supramolecular Polymer Formation on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) Surfaces Characterized by
Yongxiang Gong1,2, Siqi Zhang3, Yanfang Geng3
1CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Formation of an orthogonal supramolecular polymer on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface was demonstrated for the first time by means of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to characterize the variation of both the thickness and the topography of the film formed from (1) monomer 1, (2) monomer 1/Zn(2+), and (3) monomer 1/Zn(2+)/cross-linker 2, respectively. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to monitor the self-assembly behavior of monomer 1 itself, as well as 1/Zn(2+) ions binary system on graphite surface, further testifying for the formation of linear polymer via coordination interaction at the single molecule level. These results, given by the strong surface characterization tool of SPM, confirm the formation of the orthogonal polymer on the surface of graphite, which has great significance in regard to fabricating a complex superstructure on surfaces.
